Mesmerism in India, and its practical application in surgery and medicine / by James Esdaile.

  • Esdaile, James, 1808-1859.
Date:
1851
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Mesmerism in India, and its practical application in surgery and medicine / by James Esdaile. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

    67/266
    said he only saw smoke, and could distinguish no one: his eyes were quite lustreless, and the lids were open- ed heavily. All appearance of pain now disappear- ed ; his hands were crossed on his breast, instead of being pressed on the groins, and his countenance showed the most perfect repose. He now took no notice of our questions, and I called loudly on him by name without attracting any notice. I now pinched him, without disturbing him, and then asking for a pin in English, I desired my assistant to watch him narrowly, and drove it into the small of his back; it produced no effect whatever; and my assistant repeated it at intervals in different places as uselessly. His back had continued to arch more backwards latterly, and he now was in a state of opisthotonos; the nape of his neck resting on the sharp back of the chair, and his breech on the edge of it. Being now satisfied that we had got some- thing extraordinary, I went over to the Kutcherry, and begged Mr. Russell, the judge, and Mr. Money, the collector, to come and see what had been done, as I wanted the presence of intelligent witnesses in what remained to do. We found him in the position I had left him in, and no hallooing in his ears could attract his attention. Fire was then applied to his knee, without his shrinking in the least; and liquor ammonias, that brought tears into our eyes in a mo- ment, was inhaled for some minutes without causing an eyelid to quiver. This seemed to have revived him a little, as he moved his head shortly after- wards, and I asked him if he wanted to drink; he